According to Core Competencies group chairman Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariffin Aton, RESB is considered a “micro” independent power producer as it is supplying about 64MW of clean energy to TNB daily from its only plant in Semenyih since one and a half years ago.

“But, we are glad that the tariff for this green energy from municipal solid waste, the first of its kind in Malaysia, had been doubled to 42 sen per KW/h since February.

“The rise in tariff has prompted RESB to have a second plant in Batu Pahat slated to be operational by 2014 with building cost of about RM200mil,” said Ariffin.

According to RESB, it is the pioneer for generating sustainable energy from municipal solid waste. To date, RESB has processed more than 500,000 tonnes of waste, having generated 36 million KW/h hours of electricity and supplying 22 million KW/h to the national grid at the rate before the tariff hike in February.

In addition to power generation, the processing technology used by RESB has prevented 162 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission and millions litres of waste leachate' water from polluting the environment.

“We are grateful for the enormous support that MTDC has given us over the years. It has helped us to pioneer a new industry and to compete internationally in countries where there is a high export potential for our technology,” said Ariffin.

Meanwhile, Nor Mohamed said the Government had allocated an RM138.4mil fund for the commercialisation of research and development (R&D) and technological product and services in the 10th Malaysia Plan.

“I am confident that this fund would be a springboard to strengthen the effectiveness and capability of the innovation effort in the country in creating a economy based on knowledge and innovation,” he said.

The agreement signed between RESB and TNB yesterday was one of three agreements inked at the event yesterday.

The other two agreement included DNA Laboratories Sdn Bhd with Kalbe Genomic Laboratory, a Kalbe company, the largest public-listed pharmaceutical company in Indonesia that will see DNA Lab to provide molecular diagnostic services in Indonesia via PT. KlaGen DNA LAB.

At the exchange of documents between Recycle Energy Sdn Bhd. (RESB) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) at the launching of the Malaysian Technology Development Authority’s (MTDC) Winners 3 Programme officiated by Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakop, Minister in Charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister’s department.

RESB is very proud to be exchanging these documents with TNB today and more so because it is taking place at the launch of the MTDC Winners 3 Programme.

As a recipient of the first Winners Programme we are grateful for the enormous support MTDC has given us over the years. It has helped us to pioneer a new industry and to compete internationally in countries where there is a high export potential for our technology. This confidence in our technology was completely vindicated when CCSB won the prestigious Power Magazine award (December 2010) as the world’s top power producer using MSW Biomass.

RESB pioneered the generation of sustainable energy from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) at its RRC/WTE plant in Semenyih, Selangor. To date, we have processed more than 500,000 tons of waste, generated 36,000,000 KW hours of electricity and contributed 22,000,000 KW hours to the national grid at the old tariff. The introduction of the new tariff will ensure the sustainability of the Waste to Energy approach for the company and the country, and for that we would like to thank TNB and SEDA for the work they are doing to promote the use of renewable energy.

In addition to generating power, the processing technology used by RESB has avoided 162,000 tons of CO2 emission being release into the atmosphere and prevented millions of litres of waste ‘leachate’ water, from entering the environment.

Today we are also pleased to announce that TNB have approved the interconnecting study for RESB to supply power to the national grid in Johor. The new plant will be located in Batu Pahat and will become operational by mid 2014. This will allow us to mitigate a significant amount of environmental degradation in the state. The project has already received the go ahead from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the Johor State administration. It will produce 13 MW hours of electricity from 1000 tons of waste per day of which 10 MW hours will be exported to the national grid. The design and operation of the new plant will incorporate innovations that have been made both locally and internationally to increase the efficiency of the technology.

Resource Recovery – Waste to Energy technology integrates manual, mechanical, thermal and biological processes to recover up to 80% from raw waste in the form of compost, recyclables and energy. Furthermore the technology has been developed according to the global benchmarks of Best Available Technology Not Entailing Excessive Cost (BATNEEC), Principle of Proximity (POP), and BPEO, Best Practicable Environmental Option.

Developing the technology to the level it is today has entailed overcoming many obstacles, but thanks to the passion and commitment of our staff and the invaluable cooperation we have received from the MTDC and TNB we have been able to keep moving forward. We would also like to say a special thank you to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry for Science Innovation and Technology (MOSTI), The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (MNA) and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for consistently encouraging our endeavours. Last, but not least, we salute the Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKj) for having the foresight to adopt Waste to Energy technology to solve their MSW disposal problem.

The decision to set up the Sustainable Energy Development Authority has proved to be a great initiative that has enabled more Malaysian companies to fully participate in the development of renewable power technology. This will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and make a significant contribution to lowering the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Prime Minister’s pledge to reduce output of these gases by 40 percent by 2020. Eliminating landfill methane and significantly reducing CO2 emissions by generating power from waste, rather than fossil fuels, would contribute 13 percent of the Prime Minister’s target reduction if it were adopted nationally.

Unlike other initiatives being undertaken, that deal with one specific area of waste management, Resource Recovery – Waste to Energy technology integrates all aspects. It reduces dependence on landfills, which prolongs their life span. It eliminates landfill methane from the environment and reduces the land contamination and public health problems associated with landfills. It collects leachate water and biologically treats it back to ‘Standard A’ water and by generating power from Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) the emission of Carbon Dioxide is significantly reduced when compared to levels from burning conventional fossil fuels.

The Resource Recovery – Waste to Energy plant in Semenyih is a privately funded initiative supported by Maybank and they have indicated their openness in continuing to support us for future projects of this nature.

The revue streams generated from the processing technology also ensure that the charge to the local authorities, and hence the householders and taxpayers, remains affordable.

As we enter this new era of more sustainable development the flexibility of Resource Recovery – Waste to Energy technology can either be used on its own or in combination with existing landfill facilities to reduce the volume of waste going to landfills and to increase efficiency in the waste disposal sector.

Indeed, as we are now utilising green technology to generate energy and treat water it may be now be appropriate for KeTTHA to take a bigger role in coordinating the use of this valuable national resource with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to merge the different waste management technologies in order to maximise efficiency.

One day in Cambodia a boy told me he had been living for many years in the rubbish dumps. I tried hard to get permission to visit them but I didn’t, so I made the decision to go without permission. What I saw there was from another world.

In total there are about 500 people working there, most of whom also live, sleep, eat and drink there. After working for several months in the dumps I even saw a child birth.

One day a little boy carrying a bag of blood asked me why the people in my country never smile. I didn’t know what to answer. While he looked at the blood he was carrying as a treasure to eat, he explained to me 'I smile all the time, I’m lucky. Today I’m going to eat this and tomorrow I will see the sun again'.

They seem immune from the rubbish. Normal sickness is rare; more common is diarrhoea and stomach illness or colds. Something very common there is to suffer cuts and bruises, as most of the children are barefoot in the middle of tonnes of rubbish.

Basically the dump is their shopping centre. Everything that they need to survive comes from the dump. They always tell me that they are lucky if they find bananas because they are clean under the skin.

The sadness and the tears come after, when you are in your hotel room surrounded by material things and you don’t see the smiles and the faces of the people living there come to your memory - that is when the sadness invades you.

I call Cambodia the Forgotten World. With photography we cannot change the world, but we can change minds and touch hearts. That is the reason why I’m a photographer ... to give a voice to those in silence.